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4 <br /> 1 Clarence Grier explained that changes in the collection of vehicle property taxes (now <br /> 2 being done by the State in association with motor vehicle registrations) are causing <br /> 3 collection rates to go up from 89-90% to 95-96%, maybe even 98% this year. He said <br /> 4 as of now, RMV collections exceed last year by $1.3 million. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 Michael Talbert said these are early numbers based on December figures and will <br /> 7 change some as they go forward. There will be another 3 months of revenue data to <br /> 8 work with later in the budget process. <br /> 9 <br /> 10 Chair Jacobs recalled long-standing discussions over the years in the School <br /> 11 Collaboration Group about pursuing equity in school funding by lowering the Chapel Hill- <br /> 12 Carrboro school district tax rate and using general funds instead. He said it is worth <br /> 13 having that balancing act discussion every year. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 Commissioner Rich asked what happened to those who do not pay taxes and whether <br /> 16 the County forecloses on their homes. Clarence Grier said they try to avoid foreclosures. <br /> 17 He confirmed that the County has a system to assist people. <br /> 18 <br /> 19 Michael Talbert said the figure for school funding of 48.1% is a target that has been <br /> 20 around for 10-20 years. The County sometimes goes over that, but if it looks like the <br /> 21 number would come up short, the County increases funding to meet the target. They <br /> 22 are forecasting they will be above that target just with normal growth, without <br /> 23 considering an ADM (average daily membership) increase or a school debt service <br /> 24 increase. <br /> 25 <br /> 26 Commissioner Price asked about how the national economic situation affects the <br /> 27 County's numbers. <br /> 28 <br /> 29 Clarence Grier does not see much fluctuation in our budget. Property tax collections <br /> 30 have stayed the same or gone up over the past 4 years as the economy has recovered. <br /> 31 He does not foresee any problems with the revenue streams that the County controls. <br /> 32 <br /> 33 In response to Commissioner Dorosin's question, Clarence Grier said the 48.1% target <br /> 34 does not include the local district tax. <br /> 35 <br /> 36 The Board agreed that they had accomplished the following objective established for <br /> 37 this segment of the retreat agenda: <br /> 38 <br /> 39 Objective: That the Board obtains a comprehensive understanding of the <br /> 40 County's projected revenue estimates and anticipated budgetary <br /> 41 impacts on Fiscal 2014/2015. <br /> 42 <br /> 43 <br /> 44 B. Budget Goals Fiscal 2014/2015 (Rod Visser) <br /> 45 <br /> 46 Rod Visser explained that the objective for the next segment of the retreat agenda is for <br /> 47 the Board to identify those Budget Goals for Fiscal 2014-15 about which the Board has <br /> 48 consensus. <br /> 49 <br /> 50 The Board agreed to spend 15-20 minutes generating ideas, without immediately <br /> 51 evaluating them, then discussing the list to see if there might be 3 or 5 or 15 around <br /> 52 which they might have consensus. The following list of ideas for possible budget goals <br /> 53 was developed: <br /> 54 <br /> 55 Budget Goals <br />